Modification of behavior or physical characteristics through visual stimulation

ABSTRACT

A system and a process are provided for evaluating subliminal pixel patterns and identifying trigger patterns, which are pixel patterns that trigger a response in subjects exposed to the pattern. Each pixel pattern is embedded in a digital video or a digital still image. Pixel patterns that are found to induce reactions in subjects are identified as trigger patterns and are flagged for re-testing. Re-tested trigger patterns that repeatably induce reactions are identified as positive trigger patterns and are studied further. Variations are made to a positive trigger pattern to determine whether small changes can affect how a subject responds when exposed to that positive trigger pattern. A positive trigger pattern is evaluated to determine whether it can induce an emotional, a physical, and/or a behavioral change in the subjects and, if so, the positive trigger pattern is applied to a real-world situation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/316,069 filed on Mar. 31, 2016, the entire contentsof which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and systems for identifyingsubliminal signals that are effective for causing a physical reactionand/or an emotional reaction in subjects exposed to the subliminalsignals, for determining a type or types of behavioral changes and/orphysical changes that may be brought about by exposing subjects to thesubliminal signals, and for utilizing the subliminal signals to induce adesired action in subjects exposed to the subliminal signals.

RELATED ART

Subliminal messaging or perception relates to the perception of data orinformation subconsciously. That is, subjects exposed to the data orinformation are not aware of its existence, i.e., it cannot be perceivedconsciously. The data or information, however, is perceived by thesubjects on a subconscious level, i.e., the subjects react to the dataor information but are unaware that the data or information has beenregistered by their brains. For example, the placement of a can of Coke®on a table in a scene of a movie would not be considered a subliminalmessage, because the can of Coke® is clearly visible and able to beperceived as a can of Coke® by viewers. On the other hand, if a can ofCoke® is inserted only in a few frames of the movie but the can of Coke®is not perceptible, i.e., the viewers do not know that a can of Coke®has appeared during the movie, then the can of Coke® can be considered asubliminal message. The subliminal appearance of the can of Coke®,however, does not necessarily produce a reaction in the viewers and,even if a reaction is produced, the reaction may not be an intendedreaction.

Subliminal messaging or perception has in the past been associated withcorporate manipulation of consumers, in which purchasing behavior isinfluenced by suggestive text or pictures inserted into movies. Thesuggestive text or pictures cannot be perceived consciously butpurportedly were used for behavior control.

Although there has been concern regarding misuse of subliminalperception, the effectiveness of subliminal perception for mind controlor behavior control has been questioned and has not been firmlyestablished. James Vicary claimed in 1957 that by flashing shortadvertisements during a movie, urging viewers to eat popcorn and drinkCoca-Cola®, sales of these items increased by over 57% and 18%,respectively. Vicary could not reproduce his experimental findings,however, and he later retracted the original claim. More recently, a2015 study (H. Sperdin et al., “Submillisecond unmasked subliminalvisual stimuli evoke electrical brain responses,” Human Brain Mapping,vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 1470-1483, April 2015) reports evidence of inducedbrain activity when a subject was exposed to a subliminal visualstimulus. In this study, the subject was monitored usingelectroencephalography (EEG) techniques while being exposed to asubliminal checkerboard pattern. It was found that the subliminalcheckerboard pattern induced brain activity, and the onset of theinduced brain activity occurred at a flash duration of about 250 μs. Itwas also found that the induced brain activity for the subliminalcheckerboard pattern was localized to a particular region of the brain.Although this 2015 study appears to indicate that subliminal perceptioncan cause a physical reaction and/or a mental reaction in a subject,i.e., can induce brain activity in a subject, whether the reaction(s)can bring about a change in the behavior of the subject or a change in aphysical characteristic of the subject has not been explored.

SUMMARY

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a system and aprocess are provided for evaluating subliminal pixel patterns andidentifying trigger patterns, which are pixel patterns that trigger aresponse in subjects exposed to the pattern. Each pixel pattern isembedded in a digital video or a digital still image. Pixel patternsthat are found to induce reactions in subjects are flagged forre-testing. Re-tested trigger patterns that repeatably induce reactionsare identified as “positive trigger patterns” and are studied further.

According to a second embodiment of the present invention, a system anda process are provided for evaluating whether a variation in a positivetrigger pattern can affect how a subject responds when exposed to thatpositive trigger pattern. Variations are made to the positive triggerpattern and/or to imagery in which the positive trigger pattern isembedded to determine whether the positive trigger pattern is robustenough to induce a reaction in the subjects even if it is changed and,if so, to determine how much the positive trigger pattern may be changedand still induce a reaction in the subjects. Variations in the positivetrigger pattern that induce a reaction in the subjects are identified as“positive variations.”

According to a third embodiment of the present invention, a system and aprocess are provided for determining a type of reaction, or types ofreactions, if any, induced in a subject exposed to a positive triggerpattern and its associated positive variations (collectively referred toas “positive patterns” herein). That is, subjects are exposed to thepositive patterns to determine whether the induced reaction can bringabout emotional, physical, and/or behavioral changes in the subjects.Positive patterns that are found to cause emotional, physical, and/orbehavioral changes in the subjects are identified as “effectivesubliminal patterns.”

According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, a system anda process are provided for utilizing an effective subliminal pattern toaffect an emotional state, a physical state, and/or a behavioral stateof viewers. Unlike the subjects in the previous embodiments, who areobserved or monitored under testing conditions, the viewers in thepresent embodiment are exposed to the effective subliminal pattern undereveryday settings or “real world” conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become moreapparent from the detailed description set forth below when consideredin conjunction with the attached drawings, in which like referencenumbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements, of which:

FIGS. 1A-1D schematically show examples of test patterns;

FIG. 2 schematically shows an arrangement for testing test patterns;

FIG. 3 schematically shows a system according to an embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 4 schematically shows another system according to an embodiment ofthe invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention provide an interface for affectingcognition or neural processing. Visual stimulation is used to bypasstypical neural processing. Information is presented visually to a user(or viewer), and the information triggers neural stimulation thataffects cognition. One or more types of visual information may be usedto cause constructive or positive cognition, in which the viewer feelsan increase in a characteristic (e.g., feels an increase in happiness)after being exposed to the visual information. One or more other typesof visual information may be used to cause destructive or negativecognition, in which the viewer feels a decrease in a characteristic(e.g., feels a decrease in pain) after being exposed to the visualinformation. In the latter example, the negative cognition counteractstraditional cognition of pain, resulting in the viewer feeling lesspain. In another example, gait or movement patterns may be affected orchanged by using destructive or negative cognition to counteract typicalneural processing or cognition.

First Embodiment

According to a first embodiment of the present invention, a system and aprocess are provided for evaluating subliminal pixel patterns andidentifying trigger patterns, which are pixel patterns that trigger aresponse in subjects exposed to digital media (e.g., a digital video, adigital still image, and the like) containing the pixel patterns.

For example, a digital video is modified so that for a series of framesof the video a test pattern of pixels is changed to a predeterminedcolor. The pixels of the test pattern need not be contiguous with oneanother, nor do the pixels of the test pattern need to appear in arepeated array. The test pattern is subliminal and cannot be discernedby the subjects when viewing the video. That is, the series of frames ofthe video containing the test pattern cannot be consciously identifiedby the subjects viewing the video.

Examples of test patterns, i.e., pixel patterns that may be tested, areshown in FIGS. 1A-1D. In FIGS. 1A-1D, pattern pixels 10 are embedded inthe other pixels of the video frame, and are in one or morepredetermined color(s) forming a test pattern 12. For example, thepattern pixels 10 overlay or replace the original pixels at thepositions of the pattern pixels 10, so that when the video is shown thepattern pixels are shown as part of the video frame. The pattern pixels10 may be randomly distributed (e.g., FIG. 1C) or may be arranged in arepeating pattern (e.g., FIG. 1A). Of course, other pixel patterns notspecifically shown also may be tested and are within the scope of thepresent invention.

During exposure to the video, the subjects are monitored to see whetherthere is a reaction that occurs when the test pattern of pixels appears.If a reaction is observed in at least one of the subjects, the testpattern is identified as positive or a trigger pattern and flagged forfurther studies. If no reaction is observed in any of the subjects, thetest pattern is identified as negative and not studied further.

The video with a flagged test pattern (i.e., a trigger pattern) is shownto the same subjects or to new subjects to confirm whether exposure tothe trigger pattern can repeatably induce a reaction in at least one ofthe subjects. If repeatability cannot be confirmed for a predeterminedpercentage of exposures to the flagged test pattern (e.g., 25% orgreater, 30% or greater, 40% or greater, 50% or greater), the flaggedtest pattern is identified as negative and not studied further. Ifrepeatability is found, the flagged test pattern is identified as apositive trigger pattern to be studied further, as discussed herein inconnection with the second embodiment of the present invention.

The subjects may be shown or exposed to the video collectively, such asin a room where all the subjects watch the video together on a singledisplay screen, or the subjects may watch the video individually using apersonal electronic device, such as by using a computer, a tablet, asmartphone, a head-mounted display device, a Google Glass™ device, orthe like, to stream or access the video via an Internet link.Optionally, instead of using an Internet link, the video may be storedas video data on a computer-readable storage medium and displayed on adisplay screen directly using a display application of the personalelectronic device.

The monitoring of the subjects during exposure to the video may occur inany one or a combination of ways.

FIG. 2 schematically shows subjects 20 together in, for example, anauditorium. A display screen 22 is positioned so that the subjects 20may all watch the video at the same time. The subjects 20 may bemonitored using a video camera 24 or 26 or a group of video cameras 24and 26 recording the subjects 20 during exposure to the video.Timestamps may be used to synchronize the occurrence of the test patternin the video with the recording(s) of the subjects 20 shown or exposedto the video, so that the point(s) in the recording(s) of the subjects20 at which the test pattern occurs is known. For example, if a singlevideo camera 24 or 26 is used, the camera 24 or 26 may be arranged tocapture the faces of the subjects 20. In another example, if multiplevideo cameras 24 and 26 are used, the cameras 24 and 26 may be arrangedto capture different features of the subjects 20, such as the faces, thelegs, the torsos, etc. Optionally, individual cameras 28 may be used tocapture a particular feature or particular features of only one or onlya few of the subjects 20, or each of the subjects 20 individually.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a system 30 for implementing the aspect ofthe first embodiment shown in FIG. 2. A controller 32 includes aprocessor (not shown) programmed to control the displaying of the videoon the display screen 22 as well as communications with the videocameras 24, 26, 28. Recordings made by the video cameras 24, 26, 28 arereceived by the controller 32 and stored in a storage device 34. Thecontroller 32 provides timestamps for the recordings, so that theoccurrence or occurrences of the test pattern can be associated with aparticular section or sections of the recordings. This enables actionsby the subjects 20 while watching the video to be correlated to theoccurrence(s) of the test pattern in the video. Although FIG. 3 shows aphysical connection between the controller 32 and other parts of thesystem 30, communications between the controller 32 and the other partsof the system 30 may take place wirelessly using wireless communicationtechniques known in the art.

If a subject 20 watches the video on a display screen of a personalelectronic device 42 separately from another subject 20, each subject 20may be monitored using a video camera 44 connected to the Internet 100and/or to a storage device 46, or using a webcam 44 a integrated intothe personal electronic device 42 and connected to the Internet 100and/or to the storage device 46, as schematically shown in FIG. 4. Forexample, if the webcam 44 a or the video camera 44 is connected to theInternet 100, a video image of the subject 20 may be transmitteddirectly to a controller 46 at an external facility for storage in astorage device 48 for later analysis. Alternatively, or in addition todirectly transmitting the video image to the external facility, thevideo image may be stored locally by the subject 20 on the storagedevice 46 for later analysis.

The storage devices 34, 46 may be any memory circuitry that is able tostore image data, such as a hard-drive memory (e.g., solid-state-memorydrive, optical-disk drive, etc.), a removable storage medium (e.g.,flash/USB memory, optical disk, floppy disk, magnetic memory, etc.), andthe like.

Physical characteristics of the subjects may also be monitored by amonitoring device 58 in addition or alternative to monitoring by webcamor video camera. For example, the heartrate of a subject when watchingthe video to can be monitored by an electrocardiogram (EKG) machine orby a specialized wristband equipped with a heartrate sensor, the pulserate of a subject can be measured by a specialized wristband equippedwith a pulse monitor, the blood pressure of a subject can be monitoredby a blood pressure monitor, and the brain activity of a subject can bemonitored by neuroimaging using an EEG machine, a magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI) machine, or the like. Other physical characteristics notspecifically identified above may also be monitored by devices andequipment known in the art, to determine whether changes occur in thosecharacteristics as a result of exposure to the subliminal test patternin the video.

With respect to monitoring by a recording a subject's face, knownfacial-recognition techniques may be used to detect movement in a facialfeature. For example, an eye movement, a brow movement, a mouthmovement, a change in pupil size, etc., may be detected usingfacial-recognition software. During analysis of the recording, detectedfacial movements that are found to occur while the test pattern is beingshown, or shortly afterwards, may be used to signify reactions inducedby the test pattern, and to indicate that the test pattern should beflagged for further studies.

Similarly, with respect to monitoring a physical characteristic such asthe heartrate, the pulse rate, the blood pressure, the brain activity,or any other physical characteristic, an electronic datafile orrecording is made of data collected while a subject is watching thevideo. A baseline reading is established from the recording for when thesubject is watching the video without the test pattern. If a deviationor change from the baseline reading is found to occur in the recording,corresponding to when the test pattern appears in the video, then thevideo is flagged for further studies. That is, the coincidental timingof the deviation and the occurrence of the test pattern is taken to bean indication that the test pattern induced a reaction in the subject.

The monitoring discussed above is passive monitoring requiring nodeliberate input by the subjects. Active monitoring may also be used inaddition to or instead of passive monitoring. In active monitoring, thesubjects are asked to activate an input device when the video causesthem to have a reaction. The reaction may be specified to be aparticular emotion such as happiness, sadness, anger, nervousness,anxiety, etc., a particular physical condition such as pain, tearproduction, change in breathing rate, etc., or the reaction may begeneral such as a change in how the subject feels.

For example, the subjects 20 may be provided with an input device 45,such as a touchpad, and instructed to tap on the touchpad every timethey have a reaction while watching the video. If the timing of the tapsoccurs coincidentally with when the test pattern appears on the video,then the test pattern is flagged for further studies. Optionally,instead of a touchpad, the input device 55 may be a keyboard, a mouse,or any electronic device that the subjects 20 may use to send a signalto a processor. The processor registers the inputted signals and if thesignals correspond to when the test pattern appears in the video, thenthe video is flagged for further studies.

Similar to the discussion above, if the monitoring devices formonitoring the physical characteristics of the subjects are connected tothe Internet, monitoring data may be transmitted directly to an externalfacility for storage for later analysis. Alternatively, or in additionto directly transmitting the data to the external facility, the data maybe stored in storage devices local to the subjects, for later analysis.

A plurality of videos with test patterns may be evaluated. The testpatterns may occur sequentially in the same video, or may be embedded inseparate videos. Each test pattern is subliminal so that it appears fora duration that is sufficiently short that it cannot be consciouslynoticed by the subjects viewing the video.

For example, the video may have a monochrome green background in which atest pattern of black pixels appears subliminally in a series of framesof the video. The test pattern may be repeated in the video sporadicallyat random intervals or periodically at known intervals. The same testpattern may be evaluated for videos showing monochrome backgrounds ofdifferent colors and/or with the test pattern having non-black pixels.

Optionally, the test pattern may encompass all the pixels of a frame,i.e., the video is momentarily “blanked.” The duration of such a testpattern is short enough that the subject does not notice that the videohas been blanked. The blanking can occur repeatedly for a period oftime, such as once every second for ten seconds, or twice every secondfor seconds, for example.

In another example, the same test pattern may be used in a video havinga background that is still image, such as an image of tree, or an apple,or a house, or a polka dot pattern, or a polygon shape, or a cartooncharacter, etc., or a background that is an animated moving image, suchas a segment from a Bugs Bunny cartoon, or a background that is arealistic moving image, such as an airplane taking off, or a boatfloating on waves, etc.

In yet another example, the same test pattern may appear in differentareas on a display screen during the video. For instance, the testpattern may appear at the center of the display screen at one point inthe video, then at the top right portion of the display screen atanother point in the video, then at another region of the display screendifferent from the top right portion at yet another point in the video.

In a further example, the size of the test pattern may be varied duringthe video, to see whether there is a threshold size for which a reactionoccurs. For instance, the test pattern may be a circle that is 1 cm indiameter at one point in the video, then 2 cm in diameter at anotherpoint in the video, then 3 cm in diameter at yet another point in thevideo.

In yet another example, the test pattern may be an array of objectswhose distance from each other is varied during the video, to seewhether the spacing between objects has an effect on whether a reactionoccurs in the subjects. For instance, the test pattern may be an arrayof stripes that are 1 cm apart at one point in the video, then 2 cmapart at another point in the video, then 3 cm apart at yet anotherpoint in the video.

There is no limit to the types of video backgrounds and test patternsthat may be evaluated, except that the test patterns should besubliminal.

As mentioned above, a test pattern need not be embedded in a digitalvideo but instead may be embedded in a digital still image. In thiscase, selected pixels of the still image are modified to correspond tothe pixels of the test pattern. For example, the modified digital stillimage may be presented on traditional print media such as a magazinephotograph, a restaurant menu, a poster, and the like.

With respect to a modified digital still image presented on traditionalprint media, in order for the test pattern to be subliminal the selectedpixels corresponding to the test pattern cannot be grouped in such a waythat they are discernible from the remainder of the digital still image.In other words, objects in the test pattern need to be sufficientlysmall that they cannot be consciously noticed.

With respect to a modified digital still image presented electronically,the subliminal nature of the test pattern can be achieved by controllinga duration that the test pattern appears, so that the duration is belowa threshold for conscious perception, and/or by grouping the pixels ofthe test pattern so that objects in the test pattern are sufficientlysmall that they cannot be consciously noticed.

As mentioned above, a flagged test pattern or trigger pattern isre-tested at least once to confirm that the observed reaction in thesubjects is attributable to viewing the flagged test pattern and not toan erroneous coincidental reaction that is not repeatable, i.e., theinduced reaction cannot be reproduced when re-testing is performed. If atrigger pattern is found to induce a reaction repeatably, then the testpattern is identified as a positive or successful trigger pattern. Adatabase or library is used to store successful trigger patterns andalso to store test patterns found to be unsuccessful in triggering areaction repeatably.

Second Embodiment

According to a second embodiment of the present invention, a system anda process are provided for evaluating whether a variation in a positivetrigger pattern can affect how a subject responds when exposed to thatpositive trigger pattern. More specifically, for a flagged triggerpattern than has been re-tested to confirm that the reaction(s) inducedby exposure to that pattern is repeatable, i.e., for a positive triggerpattern, variations are made to the positive trigger pattern and/or tothe imagery (video or still) in which the positive trigger pattern isembedded to determine whether the positive trigger pattern is robustenough to induce a reaction in the subjects even if it is changed.

For example, if the positive trigger pattern is an array of blackstripes, which subliminally appear in a video on a white background at aduration of 300 μs, a variation can be made to any one or a combinationof the following:

stripe color;

stripe size (e.g., width, length);

stripe spacing;

number of stripes;

stripe brightness;

stripe location on display screen or still image;

stripe orientation (e.g., horizontal, vertical, different anglesrelative to vertical);

background color(s) and imagery;

background brightness;

background graphics and/or text;

duration of appearance (e.g., 250 μs, 300 μs, 350 μs, 400 μs, 450 μs,500 μs);

repetition of test pattern at periodic intervals;

repetition of test pattern at random intervals; and

movement of stripe during the interval(s) in which it is displayed.

The variations listed above are only some of the examples of the typesof variations that may be made to a positive trigger pattern, and othervariations also may be made in order to determine whether there is anyflexibility to vary or make changes to a positive trigger pattern andstill be able to induce a reaction in subjects.

Each variation made to a positive trigger pattern is evaluated todetermine whether a reaction is induced in the subjects. That is, videosare made for each variation, and each of the videos undergoes anevaluation such as that described above, as if the variation is anoriginal test pattern that is unrelated to a previous test pattern. If avariation is found to induce a reaction repeatably in the subjects, thenthat variation is categorized as a positive variation and is associatedwith the positive trigger pattern. If no reaction is induced by avariation, or if a reaction cannot be induced repeatably in a thresholdpercentage of the subjects, then that variation is categorized as anegative variation and not studied further.

In another example, a positive trigger pattern is evaluated to seewhether peripheral imagery, which is outside of the region containingthe positive trigger pattern, can have an effect on subliminalperception. For example, if the positive trigger pattern is a red squarein a background of an animated fish tank filled with cartoon turtles,then an evaluation may be made to see whether adding animated fish tothe fish tank would have an effect on inducing a reaction in thesubjects. The fish would move in peripheral regions surrounding thepositive trigger pattern but would not enter the background region inwhich the positive trigger pattern is embedded. In this example, if thepositive trigger pattern is associated with 40% of the subjectsregistering an induced reaction, then an increase to 50% with use of themodified periphery would indicate, for example, that factors other thanthe positive trigger pattern itself, such as movement of a peripheralobject, could enhance the effectiveness of the positive trigger patternin inducing subliminal perception. On the other hand, if a reduction isfound to, for example, 30% of the subjects, it would be an indicationthat the positive trigger pattern should not be used in conjunction witha video showing peripheral movement when the positive trigger patternoccurs.

A positive trigger pattern and its associated positive variations arereferred to herein as a group of positive patterns. A database orlibrary is used to store each positive trigger pattern together with itsassociated positive variations as a group.

Third Embodiment

According to a third embodiment of the present invention, a system and aprocess are provided for determining the types of reactions induced in asubject exposed to a positive trigger pattern and its associatedpositive variations, i.e., positive patterns, and peripheralenhancements or restrictions, if any. Subjects are exposed to thepositive patterns to determine how the induced reaction affects thesubjects emotionally, physically, and/or behaviorally.

For example, if a positive pattern has been found to increase heartrate, then the positive pattern is evaluated to see whether the inducedreaction can be used to increase alertness. For instance, if a moviewhen watched by subjects at 1 a.m. causes 40% of the subjects to fallasleep within the first 30 minutes and 60% of the subjects to fallasleep within the first 60 minutes, the movie is modified to include thepositive pattern at the 20-minute mark, for example, to see whetherexposure to the positive pattern can lead to more of the subjects beingawake at the 30-minute mark of the movie, and also to see whether moreof the subjects remain awake at the 60-minute mark of the movie eventhough the positive pattern was shown at the 20-minute mark. Optionally,instead of modifying the movie to include the positive pattern at the 20minute mark, the movie may be modified to have the positive patternoccur, for example, every 10 minutes, with the subjects being evaluatedto determine whether periodic exposure to the positive pattern iseffective to increase the number (or percentage) of subjects who remainawake for the entire movie. If the positive pattern is found to increasewakefulness, the positive pattern is identified as an effectivesubliminal pattern for altering the emotional, physical, and/orbehavioral condition of subjects exposed to the pattern. On the otherhand, if the positive pattern is found to have no effect on increasingwakefulness, then this pattern may be evaluated to see whether it can beuseful in another way, such as to increase endurance during a treadmillworkout, or to increase concentration during mind exercises.

For instance, with respect to increasing endurance, if a workout videowhen watched by subjects is associated with 30% of the subjects stoppingafter one mile of running and 40% of the subjects stopping after twomiles of running, the workout video is modified to include the positivepattern at the quarter-mile mark, for example, to see whether exposureto the positive pattern can lead to more of the subjects being able tocontinue running beyond one mile, and to see whether more of thesubjects remain running beyond two miles even though the positivepattern was shown at the quarter-mile mark. Optionally, instead ofmodifying the workout video to include the positive pattern at thequarter-mile mark, the workout video may be modified to have thepositive pattern occur, for example, every tenth of a mile, with thesubjects being evaluated to determine whether periodic exposure to thepositive pattern is effective to increase endurance. If the positivepattern is found to increase endurance, the positive pattern isidentified as an effective subliminal pattern for altering theemotional, physical, and/or behavioral condition of subjects exposed tothe pattern.

In another instance, with respect to increasing concentration orattention span, if an interactive video with arithmetic problems to besolved by subjects is known to result in 60% of the subjects being ableto complete the problems within one hour and 75% of the subjects beingable to complete the problems within two hours, the interactive video ismodified to include the positive pattern at the ten-minute mark to seewhether exposure to the positive pattern can lead to more of thesubjects being able to complete the problems within one hour, and to seewhether more of the subjects are able to complete the problems withintwo hours even though the positive pattern was shown at the ten-minutemark. Optionally, instead of modifying the interactive video to includethe positive pattern at the ten-minute mark, the interactive video maybe modified to have the positive pattern occur, for example, every fiveminutes, with the subjects being evaluated to determine whether periodicexposure to the positive pattern is effective to increase concentration,which is reflected in a greater percentage of the subjects being able tocomplete the arithmetic problems in a shorter amount of time. If thepositive pattern is found to increase concentration, the positivepattern is identified as an effective subliminal pattern for alteringthe emotional, physical, and/or behavioral condition of subjects exposedto the pattern.

In another example, if a positive pattern is found to reduce pulse rate,then the positive pattern is evaluated to see whether the inducedreaction can be used to reduce anxiety. For instance, two versions of acar-racing video game are prepared, one version in which the positivepattern is embedded and appears at least once during the game, and theother being a control version in which the positive pattern does notappear during the game. Subjects play the video game repeatedly whilethey are monitored for heart rate and pulse rate. The video games arerandomly alternated between the embedded version with the positivepattern and the control version, and the subjects have no knowledge ofwhich version they are playing at any particular time. Results of theheat-rate monitoring, the pulse-rate monitoring, and the game scores areevaluated to determine whether the embedded version of the game leads toan average reduction in heart rate when playing and/or an averagereduction in pulse rate when playing, in comparison with the averageheart rate and the average pulse rate of the subjects when playing thecontrol version of the game. Additionally, a comparison is made of theaverage scores obtained by the subjects for the embedded version of thegame and for the control version of the game, to see whether thepositive pattern can lead to higher scores as a result of improvedgame-playing brought about by reduced anxiety (i.e., increase calmness).If the positive pattern is found to reduce anxiety, the positive patternis identified as an effective subliminal pattern for altering theemotional, physical, and/or behavioral condition of subjects exposed tothe pattern. On the other hand, if the positive pattern is found to haveno effect on reducing anxiety when playing the video game, then thispattern may be evaluated to see whether it can be useful in another way,such as to increase sleepiness.

For instance, to evaluate the effect of the positive pattern onsleepiness, one group of subjects is shown a sleep video in which isembedded the positive pattern at least once during the video (“embeddedversion” herein), while a control group of subjects is shown a controlversion of the sleep video in which the positive pattern does notappear. Both groups of subjects watch the sleep video at bedtime whilethey are monitored for eyelid status (e.g., fully opened, slightlyopened, closed). The subjects have no knowledge of which version of thesleep video they are watching, and are observed or monitored todetermine when the eyelid status is closed, signifying sleep. Acomparison is made of the average time for the subjects to fall asleepfor the embedded version and for the control version of the sleep videoto see whether exposure to the positive pattern is effective to inducesleep. That is, if a greater percentage of the group of subjects whowatched the embedded version of the sleep video are asleep within a settime after watching the video compared with the group of subjects whowatched the control version of the video, then the positive pattern iscategorized as an effective subliminal pattern for altering theemotional, physical, and/or behavioral condition of subjects exposed tothe pattern. A database or library is used to store each effectivesubliminal pattern in association with information on how it alterscognition (e.g., observed emotional, physical, and/or behavioralchanges). Optionally, the database or library includes a classificationof each effective subliminal pattern as a constructive/positivecognition pattern or a destructive/negative cognition pattern.

Although the examples above relate to a positive pattern embedded in adigital video, similar evaluations may be performed for a positivepattern embedded in a digital still image.

Fourth Embodiment

According to a fourth embodiment of the present invention, a system anda process are provided for utilizing a positive pattern determined to bean effective subliminal pattern (see the discussion of the thirdembodiment above), to affect an emotional state, a physical state,and/or a behavioral state of viewers. Unlike the subjects in theprevious embodiments, who are observed or monitored under testingconditions, the viewers in the present embodiment are exposed to theeffective subliminal pattern under everyday settings of “real world”conditions.

For example, if the effective subliminal pattern (“effective pattern”herein) is one that enhances alertness or wakefulness, the effectivepattern may be incorporated in an automobile's HUD or Heads Up Display,which is a digital image projected onto the front windshield of theautomobile. The subliminal pattern may be something that isautomatically inserted into the projected digital image at periodicintervals when the automobile is in operation, or it may be somethingthat is inserted selectively, such as only when the automobile'sheadlights are on. Statistics may be obtained from automobilemanufacturers or governmental agencies regarding the accident rate forautomobiles equipped with an HUD having the effective patternincorporated compared with an accident rate for automobiles equippedwith an HUD that does not have the effective pattern.

In another example, if the effective pattern is one that enhancesalertness, the effective pattern may be incorporated in educationalvideos used by schools or in educational toys. For instance, a videogame that is intended to promote math skills may have the subliminalpattern embedded therein to enhance the learning experience of studentsviewing the videos or playing with the toys. Statistics may be obtainedfrom schools or governmental agencies regarding the math proficiency ofstudents who use the educational videos or toys with the subliminalpattern embedded compared with students who use such educational videosor toys without the subliminal pattern.

In yet another example, if the effective pattern is one that inducescalmness or reduces anxiety, the effective pattern may be incorporatedin medical-office videos shown at, for example, a dentist's office, adoctor's office, or the like, to calm patients before or during a dentalor medical visit. Dentists and doctors can be surveyed to see whetherthey notice a difference in patient demeanor when videos containing theeffective pattern are shown.

In a further example, if the effective pattern is one that inducesfeelings of happiness, the effective pattern may be incorporated inwebpages of a web site to increase time spent on the website byconsumers visiting the website and also to increase the likelihood thatthe consumers make purchases via the website. In this regard, metricscan be obtained for the average website viewing time and average salesfor the website without the effective pattern being embedded in thewebpages, for a period of, for example, 30 days. These metrics can becompared with metrics obtained for 30 days for the website with theeffective pattern incorporated, to confirm whether the effective patternproduces beneficial consumer behavior.

The various embodiments of the present invention described above havebeen presented by way of example and not limitation. It will be apparentto persons skilled in the relevant art(s) that various changes in formand detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention should notbe limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, butshould be defined only in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents. It is also to be understood that the steps and processesrecited in the claims need not be performed in the order presented.

In addition, it should be understood that the attached drawings, whichhighlight the functionality and advantages of the present invention, arepresented as illustrative examples. The architecture of the presentinvention is sufficiently flexible and configurable, such that it may beutilized (and navigated) in ways other than that shown in the drawings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for evaluating a video to determinewhether or not a pattern of pixels embedded in the video induces achange in at least one viewer of the video, the method comprising stepsof: monitoring a plurality of viewers during a session to produce arecording of the session; displaying to the viewers, during the session,the video that includes a sequence of images containing the embeddedpattern of pixels therein, the pixels of the embedded pattern beingconsciously unnoticeable by the viewers from other pixels in thesequence of images; determining whether or not a change occurs in any ofthe viewers while the viewers are viewing the video; correlating adetermined change in at least one of the viewers to an occurrence of theembedded pattern during the session based on a timing of the sequence ofimages in the video and a timing of the change in the at least one ofthe viewers in the recording of the session; and determining whether avariation in the embedded pattern induces a change in at least one ofthe viewers.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoringstep includes obtaining a recording of each of the viewers individuallyduring the session.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein theviewers are in a common location during the session, and the monitoringstep includes obtaining a recording of the viewers together during thesession.
 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the displaying stepincludes transmitting the video to each of the viewers individually. 5.The method according to claim 4, wherein the video is transmitted to theviewers via a website accessed by the viewers.
 6. The method accordingto claim 5, wherein the video is displayed to each of the viewersindividually via any of: a personal computer, a tablet, a televisionmonitor, and a smartphone.
 7. The method according to claim 5, whereinthe monitoring step includes receiving data of the viewers transmittedvia a camera.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein thecorrelating step identifies the embedded pattern as a trigger pattern ifthe change occurs in a predetermined percentage or greater of theviewers.
 9. The method according to claim 8, the method furthercomprising steps of: repeating the monitoring step, the displaying step,and the correlating step; determining whether the change is repeatable,and, if the change is determined to be repeatable, identifying thetrigger pattern as a positive trigger pattern.
 10. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the correlating step utilizes a facial recognitionalgorithm to identify a facial movement of the viewers.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the algorithm identifies any one or acombination of: eye movement, mouth movement, and head movement.
 12. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring step includesreceiving feedback from the viewers during the session.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the feedback from the viewers is receivedelectronically during the session.
 14. The method according to claim 12,wherein the feedback from the viewers is recorded feedback, and therecorded feedback is received after the session.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 12, wherein the feedback from the viewers is any oneor a combination of: a heart rate signal, a pulse rate signal, an EEGsignal, an EKG signal, a MRI signal, a brain probe signal, and a signalinputted to a user input interface.
 16. The method according to claim 1,wherein the variation is a modification in any one or a combination of:a color, an appearance frequency, a brightness, a size, and a tilt ofthe embedded pattern.
 17. The method according to claim 9, the methodfurther comprising a step of: identifying any one or a combination of: aphysical trait, a behavioral trait, and an emotional trait affected bythe positive trigger pattern.
 18. The method according to claim 17, themethod further comprising a step of: storing the positive triggerpattern in a database of positive trigger patterns, wherein the databaseassociates each stored positive trigger pattern with a trait affected bythe stored positive trigger pattern.
 19. A system for evaluating a videoto determine whether or not a pattern of pixels embedded in the videoinduces a change in at least one viewer of the video, the systemcomprising: a display screen arranged to display the video to at leastone subject during a session, the video including a sequence of imagescontaining an embedded pattern of pixels therein, the pixels of theembedded pattern being consciously unnoticeable by the viewers fromother pixels in the sequence of images; a camera arranged to monitor theat least one subject during the session and to produce a recording ofthe at least one subject during the session; a processor programmed tocontrol the display screen and the camera, and to receive the recordingfrom the camera; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory beingconfigured to store the video and the recording, wherein the processoris programmed (i) to coordinate operation of the display screen and thecamera, such that timestamps are included in the recording that areuseable to correlate a change in the at least one subject to anoccurrence of the embedded pattern during the session, and (ii) vary theembedded pattern such that the timestamps included in the recording areuseable to determine whether the variation in the embedded patterninduces a change in the at least one subject.
 20. The system accordingto claim 19, further comprising a plurality of cameras arranged tomonitor the at least one subject during the session, and to producerecordings of the at least one subject during the session, wherein theprocessor is programmed to coordinate operation of the display screenand the cameras, such that timestamps are included in the recordingsthat are useable to correlate a change in the at least one subject to anoccurrence of the embedded pattern during the session.
 21. The systemaccording to claim 20, wherein the at least one subject is a pluralityof subjects, and wherein the cameras are arranged such that each of thesubjects is monitored individually by at least one of the cameras duringthe session.